Overfishing is caused when fish and other marine species are caught at a rate faster than they can reproduce. We now know without a doubt that the fish in the ocean are becoming a limited resource. Many marine scientists now believe that overfishing is the biggest threat to the ocean environment, even greater than that of other human caused problems like the increasing pollution. The high demand for fish, along with more effective fishing techniques, has led to many species of fish around the world being depleted, making them commercially extinct or in other words not worth catching. When Scientists and Marine Biologists bring up the topic overfishing, they think of ways to prevent it, because if they don’t address the topic now it might be …show more content…
In response to the growing demand of fish, fleets are over 2.5 times as large as the sustainable fish population. Over time, this has devastated certain areas and species of fish because they are all being caught faster than they can reproduce. “For example, Cod off the coast of Canada on the Atlantic seaboard have been over fished to devastating consequences for the fishing community there.” (Merge). Another story about Cod being overfished can be found in Newfoundland, Canada in 1992. “The thriving and abundant Cod industry came to a complete standstill when start of fishing season began and there were no Cod. Decades of overfishing allowed by mismanagement caused this catastrophic disaster in not only an eco-system in a complete state of decay but nearly 40,000 people losing their livelihood.”(Smith) In addition to the amounts of fish being caught, illegal and unregulated fishing practices are largely contributing to the problem of overfishing. Illegal practices include poaching, fishing out of season, and obtaining more than the allowed number of …show more content…
“Several important commercial fish populations (such as Atlantic Bluefin Tuna) have declined to the point where their survival as a species is threatened. Target fishing of top predators, such as tuna and groupers, is changing marine communities, which lead to an abundance of smaller marine species, such as sardines and anchovies.” (Fund). Many fishers are aware of the need to safeguard fish populations and the marine environment, however illegal fishing and other regulatory problems still exist. There are studies from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's report, which is done every two years on the state of aquaculture and the world's fisheries. “This report not only discusses the problems of overfishing but shows key trends and issues, regarding the problems and causes of the unsustainability of fish in our ocean.” (Smith). Some key points are: • Over 50% of fish stocks are totally exploited • 20% of fish stocks are exploited moderately • 17% of fish stocks are overexploited • 7% of fish stocks are completely depleted • Only 1% of fish stocks are actually recovering from